Tag Archives: SBrick

Whatta MAN…

…whatta man, whatta man, whatta man, what a mighty good man. Sorry about that. Anyhoo, this is a mighty good MAN, built by Beat Felber of Flickr, and featuring remotely controlled 8×6 drive, steering on the first and second axles, motorised trailer coupling, working headlights and warning beacons, opening doors and hood, and a pneumatically tilting cab.

It’s a spectacular creation, and it looks absolutely stunning on the outside too (and orange isn’t an easy thing to pull off if you’re a man). There’s lots more of this incredible creation to see at Beat’s photostream – click the link above to make the jump to the full gallery and technical details.

World of Tanks

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It was a quiet morning here at TLCB Towers. Then an Elf triumphantly rode into the office atop this, Sariel’s ridiculously impressive fully remote controlled A39 Tortoise tank. But a quiet morning it remained, as this might well be the slowest remote control creation that we’ve ever featured.

It is however, one of the most accomplished. Controlled via two SBricks (meaning a Playstation controller can be used to operate it, which is seriously cool!), Sariel’s tank features full RC drive and steering, gun elevation and panning, turret rotation, working suspension and a V12 piston engine.

There’s more to see on MOCpages here, plus you can watch all those features in action via the excellent video below.

YouTube Video

Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – Picture Special

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The best 4×4 in the world is not a Land Rover. Or a Jeep. Or a Hummer (and if you were thinking of suggesting that last one go back to school). It’s this, Toyota’s ubiquitous Land Cruiser Prado. Now quite a rare beast in TLCB’s home nation, having lost favour to far more efficient – but far less capable – cross-overs, the Land Cruiser is still the 4×4 of choice for most of the world.

This awesome remote control Technic recreation of Toyota’s iconic 4×4 is the work of KevinMoo, and it’s a really trick bit of kit. There’s four-wheel-drive complete with remotely locking differentials, independent front and live axel rear suspension, working steering, gearbox, head and tail lights, and opening doors and tailgate, plus Kevin’s Prado can be operated remotely via a bluetooth device thanks to a third-party SBrick control unit.

There’s a whole lot more to see of this brilliant build at the Eurobricks discussion forum – click the link above to take a trip into the rough stuff.

Dropped D21

A Streetcar Named Desire

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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This incredible replica of Land Rover’s iconic Defender 90, in full Camel Trophy specification, comes from previous bloggee and TLCB legend Sariel, and it’s a very special bit of kit.

Other than the custom decals, all-terrain RC tyres and a suite of LEGO-compatible SBrick bluetooth controllers Sariel’s creation is all LEGO, and it’s one of the most thoroughly engineered and capable machines that we’ve ever come across.

Beneath the wonderfully accurate bodywork is a full remote control drivetrain, with two XL motors powering all four wheels and Servo controlling the steering. Of course 4-wheel-drive doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good off-road’, as for that you need locking differentials. Sariel’s model has three.

He’s also equipped his Defender with a remotely operated 4-speed gearbox, a front mounted winch (geared to match the gearbox’s lowest ratio), live axle suspension, and working lights.

To really appreciate this beautiful build you need to see it in action. Luckily Sariel’s got that covered as he’s produced an excellent video to accompany the superb photography. Watch it below, and you can see the Defender’s full gallery of images via Flickr, MOCpages and Brickshelf, plus you can read all the details of how this model was created at Sariel’s own website here.

YouTube Video:

Kickstart Your Creation

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Regular readers of The Lego Car Blog will know how popular LEGO’s Power Functions components have become – barely a day goes by without a model appearing here that utilises them. However, good as LEGO’s efforts are, there is room for improvement. Firstly the infrared control mechanism can falter in bright sunlight, and secondly power and variability of control is limited.

Third-party designer Roni Leben and his team think that they have the answer with this, the BuWizz integrated remote control and battery. Performing the job of a battery box and two IR receivers, the BuWizz is a totally LEGO-compatible product that brings bluetooth control, micro-USB charging and variable speed options to LEGO’s Power Functions motors. Plus it does all this whilst providing eight times more power than LEGO’s own set-up.

Controllable via Apple or Android devices the BuWizz offers a similar solution to the previously seen SBrick bluetooth control unit, but with the added benefits of a rechargeable on-board battery and a much greater power density than LEGO’s own battery unit.

The BuWizz remote control and battery brick is not yet available, however you can help make it happen! A Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign is live now, with a target of $50,000 required to bring the product to market.

You can find out more about the BuWizz brick, watch a video of it in action, and back the project to help bring it to market via the BuWizz Kickstarter Page – Click the link below to get involved!

BuWizz Kickstarter Page

BEST Truck

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This incredible 1970s DAF FTT 2600 crane truck arrives courtesy of previous bloggee Nanko Klein Paste, and it’s one of the most beautifully detailed models of the year so far. Behind the stunning realism Nanko’s truck is built for play too, and features a host of remotely controlled functions.

A third-party SBrick gives Nanko bluetooth control for the DAF’s drive, steering and that superb rotating crane. There’s lots more to see of this beautifully built, decalled, and photographed model at Nanko’s Flickr photostream – click the link above to make the trip.

Robot Wars

Hey Big Boy!*

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This magnificent creation is the work of previous bloggee and TLCB Master MOCer Dennis Glaasker aka Bricksonwheels, and it’s something rather special. It’s a Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ locomotive, and unlike most of Dennis’ builds it’s a relatively small 1:38 scale. But that doesn’t mean it’s a small build; at over a metre long it takes three Power Functions XL motors mounted in the tender to drive it, which is probably the most power any mini-figure has ever had.

Building such a huge locomotive presented Dennis with several building challenges. LEGO don’t make train wheels large enough, so Dennis worked with a friend to design and manufacture unique 3D printed wheels – complete with LEGO-compatible valve gear. A Tamiya RC battery provides the power, connected via an SBrick control module to ensure the battery power remains derestricted, and the train’s lighting is taken care of via a neat Brickstuff LED kit.

Whilst some way from a completely Lego build, Dennis’ creation shows how exceptional a model can be when LEGO bricks are used alongside specialist components.

If you’re interest in learning more about the Union Pacific build and the components used to create it you can visit the model at Dennis’ Flickr photostream here, where there are also links to the third-party suppliers and where you can see the other amazing creations that Dennis has built.

*In the voice of your Mom

Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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We rarely feature modifications of other peoples’ creations here at TLCB, but when a builder as accomplished as RM8 decides to use a design by Master MOCer Sheepo as the basis for a build, we think we can let that rule slide a bit…

This is RM8 (real name Egor Karshiev)’s brilliant Technic Land Rover Defender 90 in full Camel Trophy specification. Based on the original Defender design by Sheepo, Egor has extensively updated the hardware using his own significant Lego off-roading experience.

Power Functions motors control the drive and steering whilst tough all-wheel-drive and suspension systems allow this little Lego Defender to go anywhere the real car can (if it were really small).

Egor’s presentation is top notch stuff too, with both studio and on-location shots taken superbly, and he’s created several excellent videos showing how the Land Rover was built and what it can do outside in the rough stuff.

There’s lots more to see at the Eurobricks discussion forum, Egor’s MOCpages account, and via the YouTube video below, plus you can see more of Egor’s rival in-house designed Technic off-roader (which coincidentally was the real Land Rover’s key rival too) by clicking here.

YouTube Video:

Cruiser Crawler

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Toyota’s FJ40 Land Cruiser is something of an automotive legend, and it’s been well represented by the Lego Community over the years. Regular bloggee Madoca 1977’s latest build expands on one of these previous Land Cruiser creations and takes the classic Japanese 4×4 into the Crawler / Truck Trial arena.

With 4-wheel-drive powered by a single XL Motor, Servo Motor steering, a remotely operated 2-speed gearbox, working headlights, a powered winch, an on-board rechargeable battery, and SBrick mobile-device control, Madoca’s creation is a throughly capable off-road machine. It also looks – as you can see above – absolutely brilliant.

There are more details and images available at the Eurobricks forum here, plus you can see Madoca’s FJ40 Crawler in action via the video below.

YouTube Video:

Unstoppable

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Lego Technic is getting seriously hardcore. When throughly engineered, a remote control Technic truck with all-wheel-drive can make its way through almost anything, no matter how many TLCB Elves are clogging up its tyres. With most of our workforce squashed beneath it, or clinging to the front bumper screaming, this monstrous 8×8 behemoth finally came to a stop against the foot of our unimpressed intern as the Elf that found it abandoned the controls and escaped cackling into the dark of the archive hall. It won’t get its meal token payment in there, but it didn’t seem too bothered – violence is often prioritised over hunger.

Anyway, the creation, which is something rather special. Built by Alexey Tikhvinsky aka SilenWin it’s based on a previously featured model by Lucio Switch and has then been extensively modified. With all eight wheels powered by four LEGO Buggy Motors, twin Servo Motors steering the front two axles and two third-party SBricks allowing control by mobile device, Alexey’s build can go anywhere. How anywhere?… Just watch the video below;

YouTube Video:

You can see the full gallery of images – including WIP shots and chassis details – on both Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum, plus you can check out the original creation that inspired it by clicking on the link in the text above.

Forking Brilliant

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We like the unsung heroes of the automotive world here at TLCB. These are the vehicles without which daily life would grind to a halt, but which spend their days unseen and unappreciated, working around the clock to keep the wheels of society turning. The greatest of these is perhaps the forklift, and Flickr’s Mahjqa has decided to give this humble automotive ant its time in the sun.

This is his ‘Muravi’ forklift, and it is – and we’re not overstating this – probably the best piece of Lego engineering that you will have seen this year. Brilliantly packaged within it are remotely controlled drive, rear-steer, and forklift raising, lowering and tilting mechanisms, all of which are operable via a bluetooth device courtesy of the neat third-party SBrick.

Mahjqa’s system works as beautifully and flawlessly as any real forklift, and to demonstrate its abilities Mahjqa has created a simply enthralling video of his creation at work. It’s one of the the coolest Lego videos we’ve ever seen, and it’s making us think very carefully about whether we need Elves to work in TLCB Archives when a couple of these will do the job so much more efficiently. And without any fights.

There’s lots more to see at Mahjqa’s Flickr photostream, and you can watch the Muravi forklift in action via the superb video below.

YouTube Video:

Big Cat’s Back

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Davy Linden’s incredible (and enormous) Caterpillar D11t bulldozer was featured here at TLCB last year, and if you thought it couldn’t get any more amazing, it just has!

Previously a static display piece, Davy has since added two Power Functions XL motors (one for each track), a pneumatic compressor powered by an L motor, and four Servo motor powered pneumatic switches to control a range of working functions, including the huge front blade’s height and title angle, and the operation of the rear ripper. There are two SBrick’s enabling bluetooth control via a mobile device as well as full LED lighting.

There’s lots more to see at Davy’s photostream – click here to make the jump to Flickr.

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Tag Archives: SBrick

Whatta MAN…

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World of Tanks

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Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – Picture Special

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Dropped D21

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A Streetcar Named Desire

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Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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Kickstart Your Creation

BuWizz Kickstarter Page

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BEST Truck

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Robot Wars

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Hey Big Boy!*

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Land Rover Defender Camel Trophy – Picture Special

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Cruiser Crawler

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Unstoppable

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